Figure 1: USS Houston (CL-81) being prepared for launching, at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company shipyard, Newport News, Virginia, 16 June 1943. She was launched on 19 June. Courtesy of James Russell, 1972. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 2: Launching of USS Houston (CL-81) at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company shipyard, Newport News, Virginia, 19 June 1943. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 3: USS Houston (CL-81) off the Norfolk Navy Yard, Virginia, 11 January 1944. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 4: USS Houston (CL-81) off the Norfolk Navy Yard, Virginia, 11 January 1944. Her camouflage pattern is Measure 32, Design 1d. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 5: USS Houston (CL-81) off the Norfolk Navy Yard, Virginia, 11 January 1944. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 6: USS Houston (CL-81) off Norfolk, Virginia, 12 January 1944. She is painted in camouflage pattern Measure 32, Design 1d. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 7: Vertical photograph of USS Houston (CL-81) underway off Norfolk, Virginia, 12 January 1944. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 8: USS Houston (CL-81) underway at sea, 3 April 1944. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 9: USS Houston (CL-81) view looking aft, showing damage to the ship's stern area resulting from a torpedo hit amidships received off Formosa on 14 October 1944. This photo was taken while Houston was under tow, but prior to the second torpedo hit on 16 October. Note OS2U floatplane that had been jarred off the port catapult, breaking its wing on impact with the aircraft crane. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 10: USS Houston (CL-81) burial at sea for crewmen killed when the ship was torpedoed off Formosa on 14 October 1944. Photographed while Houston was under tow on 15 October. The following day, 16 October, she was hit in the starboard quarter (just aft of where this view was taken) by another aerial torpedo. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 11: Task Force 38 raids on Formosa, October 1944. A destroyer alongside the damaged USS Houston (CL-81) on 15 October 1944, removing excess crewmen after she was torpedoed by Japanese aircraft off Formosa. Photographed from USS Boston (CA-69). Note OS2U floatplane on Boston's port catapult. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 12: Japanese aerial torpedo explodes against USS Houston’s starboard quarter, during the afternoon of 16 October 1944. Houston had been torpedoed amidships on 14 October, while off Formosa, and was under tow by USS Pawnee (ATF-74) when enemy torpedo planes hit her again. USS Canberra (CA-70), also torpedoed off Formosa, is under tow in the distance. The original photograph is in the USS Santa Fe (CL-60) "Log," a very large photo album held by the Navy Department Library. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 13: Japanese aerial torpedo hits USS Houston’s starboard quarter, during the afternoon of 16 October 1944. This view shows burning fuel at the base of the torpedo explosion's water column. Houston had been torpedoed amidships on 14 October, while off Formosa, and was under tow by USS Pawnee (ATF-74) when enemy torpedo planes hit her again. USS Canberra (CA-70), also torpedoed off Formosa, is under tow in the distance. The original photograph is in the USS Santa Fe (CL-60) "Log," a very large photo album held by the Navy Department Library. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 14: USS Houston (CL-81) under tow on 17 October 1944, after she had been torpedoed twice by Japanese aircraft during operations off Formosa. The first torpedo hit Houston amidships on 14 October. The second struck the cruiser's starboard quarter while she was under tow on 16 October. Damage from that torpedo is visible in this view. USS Canberra (CA-70), also torpedoed off Formosa, is under tow in the distance. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 15: View of USS Houston’s torpedo-damaged stern, taken while she was under tow toward Ulithi Atoll in October 1944. Houston was hit by two Japanese aerial torpedoes during operations off Formosa. The first struck her amidships on 14 October and the second hit her starboard quarter on 16 October. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 16: View looking aft showing damage to USS Houston (CL-81) stern area resulting from a torpedo hit in the starboard quarter received off Formosa on 16 October 1944. Houston had previously been torpedoed, amidships, on 14 October and was being towed out of the area when hit by the second torpedo. Note missing aircraft hangar cover and broken aircraft crane, with severe distortion of structure to starboard. The ship's number three 6-inch triple gun turret is in the middle of the view. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 17: USS Canberra (CA-70) under tow toward Ulithi Atoll after she was torpedoed while operating off Okinawa. USS Houston (CL-81), also torpedoed and under tow, is in the right background. Canberra was hit amidships on 13 October 1944. Houston was torpedoed twice, amidships on 14 October and aft on 16 October. The tugs may be USS Munsee (ATF-107), which towed Canberra, and USS Pawnee (ATF-74). Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 18: USS Houston (CL-81) alongside USS Hector (AR-7) at Ulithi Atoll, 1 November 1944. She was under repair after being hit by two Japanese aerial torpedoes on 14 and 16 October, during operations off Formosa. An LCM is passing by in the foreground. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 19: USS Houston (CL-81) damage to the ship's hull, amidships, from a Japanese aerial torpedo hit received off Formosa on 14 October 1944. The torpedo struck the ship on her bottom, inboard of the starboard bilge keel, while she was in a turn, producing the inward displacement of bottom plating seen here. Photographed in a floating drydock at Ulithi Atoll while Houston was under repair, circa November 1944. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 20: USS Houston (CL-81) damage to the ship's starboard quarter, resulting from a Japanese aerial torpedo hit received off Formosa on 16 October 1944. Photographed in a floating drydock at Ulithi Atoll, circa November 1944. The upper part of the torpedo hole had been partially patched when this view was made. Note Houston's propellers and badly distorted rudder. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 21: Damage to USS Houston's aircraft hangar from a torpedo hit in her starboard quarter received off Formosa on 16 October 1944. View looks through the blown-open hangar hatch in the direction of the torpedo's impact point, showing men working in the damaged area. Photographed circa 27 October 1944, after Houston had been towed to Ulithi Atoll. Note broken aircraft crane at right, flooding into the hangar, and greatly distorted structure. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 22: USS Houston (CL-81) photographed circa January 1945, following temporary repair of torpedo damage received off Formosa in October 1944. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 23: USS Houston (CL-81) holding an "open house" at Lisbon, Portugal, 18 August 1946, during a visit there by units of the 12th Fleet. Taken from the harbor wall by a USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVB-42) photographer. Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation. Collection of Admiral H. Kent Hewitt, USN. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.
USS Houston (CL-81) was a 10,000-ton Cleveland class light cruiser and was the third ship to bear that proud name. Houston was built by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company at Newport News, Virginia, and was commissioned on 20 December 1943. The ship was approximately 610 feet long and 66 feet wide, had a top speed of 33 knots, and had a crew of 992 officers and men. Houston was armed with 12 6-inch guns, 12 5-inch guns, 28 40-mm guns, and 10 20-mm guns, plus four aircraft.
After completing a shakedown cruise in the Caribbean, Houston steamed to the Pacific via the Panama Canal. The cruiser arrived in time to participate in the invasion of the Marianas Islands, which began in mid-June 1944 with the amphibious assault on Saipan. During the Marianas campaign, Houston escorted aircraft carriers and bombarded Japanese shore targets. She also took part in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, which was a major American victory.
In September 1944, Houston’s carrier group participated in the amphibious assault on the Palau Islands as well as in raids on the Philippine Islands. On 12 to 14 October 1944, Houston took part in carrier Task Force 38’s air raids on the Japanese bases on Formosa (now Taiwan). On the evening of 13 October, Japanese aircraft based on Formosa attacked the heavy cruiser USS Canberra (CA-70), causing serious damage to the ship. Although badly damaged, Canberra remained afloat and was being towed to safety. The next evening, on 14 October, Japanese aircraft from Formosa struck Task Force 38 once again. Although Houston’s gunners shot down three of the attacking aircraft, a fourth torpedo bomber managed to slip through the task force’s anti-aircraft defenses. The Japanese torpedo plane dropped its deadly load into the water and after a few moments the torpedo hit Houston directly amidships, just below the turn of the starboard bilge, and severely damaged the ship. The explosion caused major flooding and all four of Houston’s machinery spaces were quickly filled with water, causing the ship to come to a halt. Houston’s commanding officer, Captain W. W. Behrens, initially thought Houston was going to sink and requested that her crew be taken off the ship. But damage control parties managed to stop the flooding and Captain Behrens reversed his order to have his crew removed from the stricken warship. During the remaining hours of darkness on 14 October, Houston managed to rig a tow line with the cruiser USS Boston (CA-69) and the painfully slow process of towing a damaged warship filled with tons of water began.
There were now two crippled American cruisers being towed to safety, Canberra and Houston. The two warships were being escorted by several American cruisers and destroyers and both were being towed to Ulithi atoll in the Caroline Islands for repairs. On 16 October, the fleet tug Pawnee (ATF-74) took over the Houston’s tow line and the fleet tug Munsee (ATF-107) began the task of towing Canberra. But that day, another large group of Japanese aircraft based on Formosa attacked the American warships. American fighters from nearby escort carriers, as well as an enormous amount of anti-aircraft fire from the ships in the task force, shot down many of the Japanese aircraft. Unfortunately, a few Japanese planes managed to survive the American defenses and one torpedo bomber managed to, once again, get close to Houston. The Japanese plane dropped its torpedo and this time the cruiser, while still under tow, was hit on her starboard quarter, creating another major hole in her hull and blowing up her aircraft hangar.
Although Houston was still being towed by Pawnee, the cruiser now had roughly 6,000 tons of water in her ruptured and extremely weakened hull. But Houston’s crew refused to give up. Every available hand on board the ship frantically tried to stop the flooding. With dogged determination and a lot of luck, the crew managed to, once again, stop the flooding and contain it to certain sections of the ship. Houston remained afloat, although barely above water. It took eleven days to tow Houston and Canberra to Ulithi, a trip of more than 1,300 nautical miles. Once there, the two ships underwent extensive temporary repairs which were subsequently continued at Manus in the Admiralty Islands. After two months of hard work, Houston’s holes were patched up, her hull was reinforced, and enough machinery was repaired so that she could steam back to the United States under her own power for permanent repairs. Few US Navy warships operating in the open sea have sustained such massive underwater damage and flooding and remained afloat, let alone make it thousands of miles back to the United States under their own power.
Houston eventually arrived on 24 March 1945 at the New York Navy Yard at Brooklyn, New York, for permanent repairs. The ship received a complete overhaul from March to October 1945. World War II had ended by the time Houston was ready for active duty, but she spent the next two years of post-war service with the Atlantic Fleet, sailing in northern European and Mediterranean waters from April to December 1946 and once again from May to August 1947. USS Houston was decommissioned on 15 December 1947 and was placed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet until she was stricken from the Navy list on 1 March 1959. This incredibly tough warship was sold for scrapping in June of 1961.
